Iblis
Iblis, the Dark Ascendant of Pride, also formerly known as the High Priest or Great Seer, was one of the first-generation Akyr. He was also the first to mate and father offspring, having one daughter. Iblis's former position in Akyrian society was of extremely high rank, acting as an adviser to the Queens and royal family, and rarely acted as a delegate to other communities outside of the Akyr kingdom. He was considered Akyrian aristocracy and held a position on the council up until Queen Minerva's reign, who removed him after finding out about his assassination attempt on her family and the successful assassination of the first Queen, Artemis. Iblis was sentenced to life imprisonment, but mysteriously escaped during transit. He has not been seen since. Appearance Prior to his corruption, Iblis was a rather average-height black Akyr with a long purple tail and purple wings. His eyes are a pale, ghostly blue. The hair atop his head was once a meticulously groomed lavender fauxhawk. His wings were removed as part of his punishment. His right index toe is missing. Post-corruption, Iblis regained his wings, now ever-burning in bright, violet flames, as well as his tail. On his shoulders, back, and abdomen, he possesses purple, glowing markings. Crystalline growths sit atop his head, although one of them appears to have been broken off. Outfits (WIP) History Iblis is one of the first-generation Akyr and the first to father Akyr offspring. His mate, a female Akyr who has gone unnamed, was drawn into the depths of the Garden of Decay and was crushed to death by the Dark Titan, leaving him alone to raise their daughter. After the Titan had wandered off, leaving the two alone, Iblis stumbled upon a mysterious object. Unbeknownst to him, he had that day been gifted with one of the most powerful artifacts on the planet - The Eye of Truth. Upon lifting up the artifact, Iblis was bombarded with visions of the future - though he had no control over the visions the Eye had shown him. In his visions he saw an army being led by three Akyr and, most importantly, he saw their method of victory - weapons built from the crystals around Yggdrasil. Iblis had no time to revel in his discovery, though, as he spent quite some time languishing in despair after his mate's death. It wasn't until over three months later that he met up with Artemis and Orion after their failed encounter with the Dark Titan and told them of his vision. After which, the trio used the information, as well as Orion's newfound abilities to experiment with the Dark Titan's weakness regarding Yggdrasil's crystals. The Titan's hide was indeed vulnerable to the crystals as Iblis's visions had shown. Though there was no way they could realistically hold their own against an enemy as powerful as the Titan, even if they knew its weakness. Artemis and Orion sought to make an army that could beat the Titan. Several months after Iblis joined the group, Hephaestus returned with the power of the dormant Titan, Diat, as the Ascendant of the Forge. With his newfound power, he, Orion, and Artemis were able to forge weapons that could exploit the weakness of the Dark Titan and gather an army. Iblis, however, remained with his daughter to ensure that she would survive. The public praised Iblis for his significant contribution, boosting the ego of the previously downtrodden Iblis. Iblis gained renown as the greatest seer in the land, as he was the key to the Akyr's victory, and he basked in the joy of his companionship with the other founders, even being named as the Fourth Founder. However, a hole remained in the heart of Iblis, as he had not forgotten the loss of the one he loved. He spent many days and nights alone, wishing that he had the visions sooner, and that they could've prevented her death. In the moments of his despair, Iblis was tormented with visions of the Queen's death. Someday soon, she would fall to an incurable illness. Over and over he agonized over the visions of his friend's death he had been shown, driving him mad. Iblis took it upon himself to prevent tragedy and warned the trio of the impending death. For a time, it seemed that all was well within the empire and the Queen had not yet fallen ill. The Founders were satisfied in that they would be able to prevent the Queen's death. Iblis once again, though, became subject to terrifying visions of the apocalypse. Iblis did not know how to prevent this tragedy and sought answers. In dreams, a voice called out to him - the voice of a god known as Mir. Mir whispered in his ear that he had given him the Eye because he had seen in him something he had not in other mortals. It swore to him that if the visions he saw did not come to pass, then the world would be thrown into catastrophe. Iblis thought about the God's words, and mentioned the vision of the apocalypse. Mir told him that it was the fate of all worlds in the end, but one small misstep in the timeline would cause it to arrive sooner and suggested the reason for his vision was that the Queen's foretold death had not yet occurred. Iblis doubted Mir's words, and Mir told him he would be duly rewarded in the end for his services. As he did, Iblis saw another vision - his love returned to him. He swore to Mir that he would follow his visions for the sake of others - and for the sake of reuniting with his love. Days later, Iblis poisoned the Queen's wine, and she was stricken with an incurable illness and passed away. Orion was implicated in her death and fled, never to be seen or heard from again. Iblis watched as the Queen's daughter was crowned and continued to dutifully follow his visions. His once warm and kind heart began to harden as he forged on through a dark path. His wisdom was seen as the most valuable in the land, and from behind the throne, he ruled in the shadows. The voice of Mir continued to call out to him, and the visions seemingly became darker - but clearer in their goals. Iblis forced the royalty to oppress the masses, imposing a vicious caste system that ensured he would have subjects for Mir's intentions. The visions became less frequent and Mir's demands harder to meet, though by this point, Iblis had been fully swayed by the god. Iblis deluded himself with noble words, but in truth, he knew his reasons were just to see his love once more. Iblis did not, however, ever see the rebellion coming. Minerva's victory was swift, taking the entire empire by surprise. A new Queen had ascended, and her ideals were of much concern to Iblis. The new Queen chose to keep many of the old council members in place, but imposed absolute power over them, citing that they would feel the effects of their blunders with society. Iblis insisted that his visions were the reason that the empire was successful, which did not move Minerva in the slightest. She dismissed his claims, enraging the Seer, though he continued to serve the court. Eventually, another vision came to him, of Minerva being courted by a peasant named Cain. Enraged and sure that the royal bloodline would be weakened by adding the blood of someone lowborn and thus would be unable to face hardships in the future, Iblis set out to find and imprison Cain. However, Cain came to them first. Cain saved Minerva during the annual Wild Hunt, when the God of the Wild had 'selected' her to become its newest Adherent. Imprisoned for impeding the Queen's hunt, Cain was placed in a gladitorial arena. There, Cain wore the icon of Orion and proclaimed that Orion was alive. After several victories, Hephaestus confirmed the medallion that Cain wore did belong to Orion. Minerva and Cain grew close in the following years. Their friendly relationship and blossoming romance irritated Iblis to no end. He already disliked Minerva's dismissal of his ways, as well as her own personal power, so he began plotting both her and Cain's demise. During this time, Minerva and Cain had already began to secretly suspect Iblis and set Iblis's daughter (Ishtar) against him. She complied gladly, as she believed that his visions had driven him mad. Ishtar closely observed her father, who had become arrogant and sloppy in his actions. Eventually, she was able to discover her father's treachery and plot to kill the current Queen, although there was no way to prove that he was responsible for Artemis's death. Iblis was sentenced to a fate worse than death - banishment and his eternal life spent in a cold, dark pit in the Far North. As part of his punishment, his wings were removed so he would be constantly reminded of his inability to escape. However, during transit, he managed to escape from his captors and slipped away into the dense forests of Aksyos. Iblis's fate following his banishment is unknown.